After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.”
Parallel translations
- WEB After these things he went out, and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office, and said to him, “Follow me!”
- KJV And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
- BSB After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him,
- NASB After that He went out and looked at a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.”
- NLT Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus calls Levi, a despised tax collector, to follow him. He summons an outcast into discipleship by sovereign grace.
Overview
Tax collectors were scorned as collaborators and cheats, yet Jesus calls Levi (Matthew) with a simple 'Follow me!' The call demonstrates that no one is beyond the reach of grace. By choosing such a man, Jesus enacts his mission to seek and save sinners and foreshadows the controversy over his table fellowship with the outcast.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Mark 2:13–22He went out again by the seaside. All the multitude came to him, and he taught them.
- Matt 9:9–17As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, “Follow me.” He got up and followed him.
- Matt 10:3Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Lebbaeus, who was also called Thaddaeus;
- Mark 3:18Andrew; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot;
- John 1:43On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
- Matt 4:19–21He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.”
- Luke 18:22When Jesus heard these things, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow me.”
- Matt 8:22But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
- Matt 16:24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
- John 12:26If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
- John 21:19–22Now he said this, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. When he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 5:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.